Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-06
THE RITE OF JoHUR.
An Awful Sacrifice Made by
Eanatical Women In India.


A Reuters telegram of the 2lst of
October last read: "a repetition Of the
Johur ordeal has occurred in Brahmin
village near Neemuch, in Bengal, the
object being to avoid the Tonk Durbar
assessment. The two victims calmly
ascended the funeral pyre and bravely
met death. The villagers afterwards
took their charred heads to Odeypore.
Neemuch 10 town and British canton.
ment in the territory of Gwallor, and is
situated at u short distance from the
boundary separating that tract of coun.
try from the State of Odeypore, in
iRajpootana. It is Just where one would
expect the Johur to take place, if any
where; for it is essentially q Rajpoot
rite, like the sacrifice of widows and in.
fants. The present case is q remarkable
one, for Johur, in past history, was
never used to avoid assessment, aud the
telegram does not say whether the vic.
Tins are male or female.
Johur is an awful rite. A whole tribe
may become extinct by it, as is seen by
several instances recorded in the history
of the Rsjpoot states. What it signi.
1ies is the burning of women to save
their honor. The Rajpoot ia profoundly
jealous of the honor of his women, and
to prevent their falling into the hands of
conquerers, then to be dealt with, as was
often the case in the wars with the Ma.
hometans, he has recourse to the Johur-
that Is to say, the immolation of every
female of the family. And the Rajpoot
woman gladly embraces such refuge
from pollution; or even if she were not
in fear Of being forced away as captive,
she would prefer it to living on as q
widow.
The loss of battle or the capture of q
city during the Mahometan invasion
was usually the time when this dreadful
rite was practiced. AT the end of the
famed siege Of Cheetore, the ancient
capital of the Rama of Odeypore, by
Ala-uddin, in 1903, the Rajpoot chief.
after an arduous day, passed the night
In pondering the means by which he
might save from the general destruction
one at least of his twelve sons. Eleven
Of them fell during the next few days.
and when but one son remained to the
Rama he proclaimed the Johur. The
funeral pyre was lighted within subter.
ranean chambers where the suns rays
had never entered, and the de-
Tenders of Cheetsre beheld the
queens, and their own wives and
daughters to the number of several
thousands, pass in procession to the fire.
The beautiful Pudmani, the consort of
the Rama, who was believed to be the
chief object of attraction for the con.
quering Tartar, came last in the throng.
The door of the caverns closed; the fires
ragged within; and the honor Of the Raj.
moot women was saved. When after
wards Als-uddin entered the capital on
the death of the Rama and his surviving
son, who fell in the conflict, he found it
otrewn with the bodies of its defenders,
while smoke yet issued from the recesses
where the women had persisted.
Again during the second siege of Chez.
tore by Bahadoor, Shah of Gujrat iu
1880, when the bravest had fallen in de.
1snding the breach caused by his artil.
lery (it was served by Portuguese adven-
turss) the JUNIOR was proclaimed. There
was little time to build the pyre. Com
bustibIes were heAped up in hurriedly-
Ua1s hollows in the ground, and maga.
.xines were placed around them. The
mother of the infant prince led the pro-
ooasion of willing victims to their doom.
and Is 900 females were thus immolated
- once.
IL the Johur on the occasion Of Firoz
ohah's attack upon Jessulmir, some
ycnrs after the event above described,
u 900 females were destroyed.
The Johnr .was practicsd not only